A questionnaire survey was conducted to examine the attitudes of Malaysian dentists toward patient education and preventive dentistry and the level of preventive care adopted in Malaysian dental practice. An adjusted response rate of 73.1% was obtained. Generally the Malaysian dentists had positive attitudes towards patient education and preventive dentistry including fluoridation. However, a sizable proportion of them considered that preventive measures were no challenge for the dentist. The common preventive measures given to patients were scaling, dental health education, prophylaxis and instruction in correct brushing and flossing in as much as 40 to 50 percent of the queried dentist claimed that these preventive items were provided to most or all of their new patients. In spite of the fact that the majority of the dentists had good knowledge about the application and effects of sealants only about 41 percent of the dentists claimed to have used sealants. More dentists in the private sector reportedly having done so. Also many Malaysian dentists (18.5%) did not use leaded protection for any of their new patients when taking radiographs.
A questionnaire survey on cross-infection control was conducted among 1371 professionally trained dentists whose names appeared in the Malaysian Government Gazette of 1990. A 73.1 percent response rate was obtained. About 13 percent of the dentists routinely did not wear gloves during treatment of patients as opposed to 54 percent who routinely did. About 83 percent and 52 percent of dentists wore a mask and eyewear or glasses respectively when carrying out dental procedures. About 93 percent of dentists would use a new sterile needle for each patient and about 40 percent would wipe working surfaces with disinfectant after each patient. The practice of sterilizing handpieces was found to be uncommon as opposed to the sterilization of hand instruments. Variations were observed in some of the infection control measures by gender, seniority in service and employment status. More than one-third of the respondents had experienced puncture wounds during the last month prior to the survey.
A postal questionnaire survey concerning dentists' attitudes toward auxiliaries in Malaysia resulted in a 73.1 per cent response rate. The result of the study indicates that whilst the majority of the dentists agreed that dental auxiliaries usually increase productivity and permit the dentists to devote more time for more challenging tasks, a majority felt uncomfortable to be held accountable for the performance of auxiliaries. A majority of the dentists agreed that dental auxiliaries work best under direct supervision. The perceived value of the auxiliaries was more positive among public sector dentists as compared to private practitioners. Almost three-quarters of the dentists were positive towards legalising properly trained auxiliaries to work in private practice performing mainly preventive procedures. The implications of these findings relative to existing regulations, mode of practice and the future prospect in the delivery of oral health care are discussed.